This Is So Cute!!

5 Myths About Becoming an Astronaut

Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to become a NASA Astronaut? The term “astronaut” derives from the Greek word meaning “space sailor,” and refers to all who have been launched as crew members aboard NASA spacecraft bound for orbit and beyond.

We’re looking for a new class of astronauts to join the NASA team, and here are a few things to know.

Here are a few myths about becoming an astronaut:

MYTH: All astronauts have piloting experience.

FACT: You don’t need to be a pilot to be an astronaut. Flying experience is not a requirement, but could be beneficial to have.

MYTH: All astronauts have perfect vision.

FACT: It’s okay if you don’t have 20/20 vision. As of September 2007, corrective surgical procedures of the eye (PRK and LASIK), are now allowed, providing at least 1 year has passed since the date of the procedure with no permanent adverse after effects.

MYTH: All astronauts have advanced degrees like, a PhD.

FACT: While a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university is necessary, an advanced degree is not required to become an astronaut.

MYTH: Astronauts are required to have military experience in order to be selected.

FACT: Military experience is not required to become an astronaut.

MYTH: You have to be a certain age in order to be an astronaut. 

FACT: There are no age restrictions. Astronaut candidates selected in the past have ranged between the ages of 26 and 46, with the average age being 34.

Okay, but What are the requirements?

Basic Qualification Requirements

Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements before submitting an application. 

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science or mathematics.

Degree must be followed by at least 3 years of related, progressively responsible, professional experience or at least 1,000 pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft. An advanced degree is desirable and may be substituted for experience as follows: master’s degree = 1 year of experience, doctoral degree = 3 years of experience.  Teaching experience, including experience at the K - 12 levels, is considered to be qualifying experience for the Astronaut Candidate position; provided degree is in a Science, Engineering, or Mathematics field.

Ability to pass the NASA Astronaut physical, which includes the following specific requirements:

Distant and near visual acuity: Must be correctable to 20/20, each eye

The refractive surgical procedures of the eye, PRK and LASIK, are allowed, providing at least 1 year has passed since the date of the procedure with no permanent adverse after effects.  For those applicants under final consideration, an operative report on the surgical procedure will be requested. 

Blood pressure not to exceed 140/90 measured in a sitting position

Standing height between 62 and 75 inches

Applications for our next astronaut class open on Dec. 14! Visit: http://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com 

If you couldn’t tell already, NASA is having a great year. From Pluto to food grown in space, even in the face of budget cuts, the nation’s space agency had some stellar highlights. Most mysteriously of all, a spacecraft found two eerily bright lights on a distant dwarf planet.

Real Photos from Venus

Only a little bit smaller than Earth, Venus is often described as our sister planet - but no human could survive on Venus. It’s the second closest planet to the Sun and is a world rife with intense heat, violent volcanism, craters, mountains, continents, and a thick, toxic atmosphere resulting from a runaway greenhouse effect. The atmosphere is mainly carbon dioxide and nitrogen, with clouds of sulfuric acid, and it traps huge amounts of heat from the Sun. In fact, Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, with temperatures reaching a hellish 480 degrees C - hot enough to melt lead.

Over 40 spacecraft have studied Venus, including the 1975 Venera landers that sent back the first images from the surface, and the Magellan mission that completed a map of 98% of the planet’s surface in 1993, using radar to penetrate the cloud. Some of these images are features above. Click them for captions!

(Image Credit: NASA / NSSDC / ESA)

Is she naked because you love her or do you love her because shes naked?

(via gedankenlyrik)

even if you can’t vote

i get a lot of questions about how to contribute to the campaign without being able to vote, and right now is a pivotal time for us to be supporting Bernie Sanders in every way we can.

if you’re too young, not registered, not eligible, not a US citizen or living in the US, or already voted and still want to help, you can still contribute! right now closing the delegate gap is more important than the individual state primaries, and to make any difference on that front we need more volunteers.

the best thing to do right now, even if you're voting/have voted, is to volunteer for the campaign and work with your local Bernie supporters to get more delegates. below are links to websites where you can find contact information for the remaining states. contact someone on the local campaign (in your area, or in any state you think needs support!) and ask them how you can best help their efforts. I’ve been doing phone banking and collecting signatures for delegates in rhode island, as well as attending events and hanging out fliers, and trust me when i say any little bit helps. 

remember, Obama lost more states to Hillary at this point in the primary than Bernie has. he had the delegate support, and there’s still time to catch up to Hillary’s numbers if we all pitch in.

here is a list of all the states left in the primary, and the website for their local grassroots movement:

Arizona (Mar 22): Website: http://arizonaforsanders.org/

Idaho (Mar 22): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/idaho/

Utah (Mar 22): Website: http://www.utahforberniesanders.com/ Alaska (Mar 26): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/alaska/ Hawaii (Mar 26): Website: http://hawaiiforbernie.com/ Washington (Mar 26): Website: http://washingtonforberniesanders.com/

Wisconsin (Apr 5): Website: http://wi.forberniesanders.com/

Wyoming (Apr 9): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/wyoming/ New York (Apr 19): Website: http://teambernieny.org/ Connecticut (Apr 26): Website: http://www.berniesandersct.com/ Delaware (Apr 26): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/delaware/

Maryland (Apr 26): Website: http://www.berniesandersvideo.com/maryland.html Pennsylvania (Apr 26): Website: www.pa.forberniesanders.com/events Rhode Island (Apr 26): Website: www.rhodeisland.forberniesanders.com/ (or contact me)

Indiana (May 3): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/indiana/ Guam (May 7): Website: https://go.berniesanders.com/page/event/detail/volunteermeetingtogetorganizedorlearnmore/4v28f Nebraska (May 10): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/nebraska/

West Virginia (May 10): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/west-virginia/

Kentucky (May 17): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/kentucky/ Oregon (May 17): Website: https://oregonforbernie.com Virgin Island (Jun 4): Website: https://www.facebook.com/democratsvi/  (no specific Bernie Sanders website or page yet- make your own!)

Puerto Rico (Jun 5): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/puerto-rico/ California (Jun 7): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/california/ Montana (Jun 7): Website: http://www.mtforbernie.com/ New Jersey (Jun 7): Website: http://newjersey.forberniesanders.com/ New Mexico (Jun 7): Website: www.nm.forberniesanders.com/ North Dakota (Jun 7): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/north-dakota/ South Dakota (jun 7): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/south-dakota/

District of Columbia (Jun 14): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/washington-dc/

if you have any questions, if you need help registering/finding who to contact, or you just wanna talk about Bernie Sanders, don’t hesitate to send me a message!